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a question of vaccines

Honestly? I’m not sure what I think about them. I keep up on my tetanus shots because, between critters and Halloween, I run enough of a risk of injury that I’ve never questioned whether or not I should have the shot. (Ironically, it’s a shot I’ve asked my doctors for and have never had one suggest that I get a booster.)

So let it be noted that I’m not anti-vaccine, especially for things like polio, smallpox, and tetanus. In fact, I used to not think much about them at all. At some point, I remember posting a link to the Penn and Teller video about vaccines.

I still think there’s some good food for thought there. But I also think there’s more stuff to consider. And the more I think about it, the more I think we should all be asking more questions.

That’s…a LOT of vaccines. For really young kids. And..hepatitis is on the schedule? The flu shot? Chickenpox?

The CDC reports that of course vaccines are safe. The website says, “Immunizations, like any medication, can cause adverse events. However, a decision not to immunize a child also involves risk. It is a decision to put the child and others who come into contact with him or her at risk of contracting a disease that could be dangerous or deadly. Consider measles. One out of 30 children with measles develops pneumonia. For every 1,000 children who get the disease, one or two will die from it. Thanks to vaccines, we have few cases of measles in the U.S. today. However the disease is extremely contagious, and each year dozens of cases are imported from abroad into the U.S., threatening the health of people who have not been vaccinated and those from whom the vaccine was not effective.”

So there’s pressure there to get the vaccine, although it might not work and although measles isn’t common.

As it turns out, Matt had some damn good reasons to not want this vaccine for his child. Babies have died from it. The vaccine can cause liver damage. The common response to these points is, “Parents are told of the possible risks of vaccinations.” That’s not true. Ian’s story is just one example.

The Gardasil vaccine has been pretty popular for the past few years. HPV is one of those diseases that’s pretty common and in most cases will clear up by itself..and, oh, it’s sexually transmitted, so, ya know, not SO easy to contract for a kid (which I say with the knowledge that kids are not always making smart choices, but..dude, if your kid’s having unprotected sex at age 11, you have more to worry about than HPV)…but it might also cause cervical cancer. So a vaccine is Of The Good, yes? Maybe not. A lot of people think not. Additionally, please note that although all of the immunization schedules say to wait until a kid is 11 or 12, Merck says 9 year olds can receive this medication. And yeah, that vaccine isn’t going to save your kid from all strands of HPV…which you probably know.

My personal opinion about vaccines is that I don’t see a reason to get a vaccine for something like chickenpox or the flu because I don’t personally see them as being anywhere as serious as, say, polio. I’ve yet to see a good enough argument to change my mind.

What I *have* run into is the argument that by not getting all of the vaccines and boosters the CDC recommends, I am putting other people’s health at risk. And here’s my opinion about that:

I don’t buy it.

I get the idea behind “herd immunity.” I get the idea that, because I have (I believe) a healthy immune system and should be able to get a vaccine without having an adverse reaction, I have a responsibility to do so for the sake of those who cannot do so. (And to the parents of kids that have compromised immune systems? Wow do you have some hard decisions to make. Not much is known about immunizations and how they affect kids like yours. If you don’t get your kids the shots, you’re a bad parent. If you do,

That said: I also believe we are each responsible for our health. Where do your rights smack up against mine?

One thing I personally find disturbing is that, if you do have a complaint about a reaction you or your loved one has had to a vaccine, you have to take that to the “Vaccine Court.” If you try to sue a drug company, you’re running into the very real possibility that your suit won’t go anywhere because vaccine companies are protected against such cases. And if you want to think vaccines are safe? The manufacturers make huge settlements. Even over autism. Medicine is HUGE money. If they can settle for those amounts, the mind boggles at how much they’re actually making.

My not at all humble opinion is that if you want to not believe there’s reason for concern, you’re going to dismiss any cautionary tales as being “anti-vax propaganda.” And if you’re of that opinion, you haven’t read much of what I’ve linked to in this blog because you’ve already forgotten that I’ve said I’m not against vaccinations. 🙂 If you’re at all open minded, you’re going to look at the tons of information and think about what you’re putting into your body. Or your child’s body.

One of the more surprising stats I found while writing this blog was that more parents than you’d think are questioning vaccinations. NVIC is a great resource if you want to know more. (And yes,they’re working with the CDC, so no, this isn’t a dismissable ‘anti-vax’ website.) Among chiropractors, it’s commonly accepted that vaccines are maybe not the best idea, which means that are countless doctors saying no to vaccines.

To step away from vaccines…here’s some sobering info.

We are 49th in world health. We’re also the country spending the most on health care. Says that article, “After citing statistical evidence showing that American patterns of obesity, smoking, traffic accidents and homicide are not the cause of lower life expectancy, they conclude that the problem is the health care system.”

It’s not just one thing. It’s not just obesity or genetically altered food or pollutants or bad medical practices. It’s all of it.

And if you’re not looking around and asking why we’re doing the things we’re doing – eating crap, not getting outside, poisoning ourselves in a multitude of creative ways – I think you..and not the folks refusing to overvaccinate their kids..are the problem.